Ironman UK Results 2013: Men's and Women's Top Finishers

On Sunday, a relatively new face and one of the most decorated triathletes in the world reigned supreme.

Great Britain's Ritchie Nicholls and Irish star EimearMullan captured the titles at the 2013 edition of the Ironman UK 70.3, and it wasn't even close.

That's because the 25-year-old Nicholls swam, biked and ran away from the rest of the field all day, and finished the course more than five minutes before his next closest competitor at Wimbleball Lake.

On the women's side, Mullan finished just over a minute ahead of British runner-up Holly Lawrence, who held a three-minute lead on the 31-year-old Ireland native following the 1.2 mile swim.

Heading into the race, Fraser Cartmell, a three-time former champion of the Ironman UK had to be considered the favorite, but Nicholls' final leg was far too much for any of his fellow Brits to overcome.

Regardless of which of the three contenders came out on top, it was clear the grueling test of endurance would be won by a Brit, as the top seven finishers all hailed from the home country.

Name

Country

Swim

Bike

Run

Finish

Div. Rank

Overall Rank

Nicholls, Ritchie

GBR

00:24:01

02:32:49

01:14:39

04:15:04

1

1

Don, Tim

GBR

00:23:56

02:32:45

01:19:42

04:20:07

2

2

Cartmell, Fraser

GBR

00:23:57

02:32:47

01:20:04

04:20:30

3

3

Clarke, Will

GBR

00:23:59

02:41:01

01:16:31

04:25:51

4

4

Widmann, Uwe

GER

00:25:35

02:42:12

01:22:51

04:35:28

5

5

Skipper, Joe

GBR

00:27:06

02:42:43

01:23:34

04:37:35

6

6

Baxter, Sam

GBR

00:28:55

02:41:33

01:23:00

04:38:30

1

7

Baldwin, Nick

SEY

00:27:04

02:43:29

01:25:54

04:41:28

7

8

Fanous, Lawrence

JOR

00:24:00

02:51:29

01:22:35

04:42:13

8

9

Wilby, Peter

GBR

00:27:40

02:44:05

01:26:06

04:43:39

2

10

By the time the race's second leg was over, it was clear it would be one of Nicholls, Tim Don or Cartmell who would emerge victorious, as the leaders had separated themselves from the field by more than eight minutes during the 56.4-mile bike ride.

In the end, Nicholls squeaked out the victory with a furious finish to the 13.1-mile run, clocking in at 1:14:39. The win represents a landmark title for a triathlete who recently moved up in terms of distance over a field that featured a number of the sport's most accomplished athletes.